As promised, here is the second part of our article (which began here) on how to adjust the pattern for a cloth doll body to make it poseable so you can place it in a chair or have it hold a toy.
Making the fabric portion of the doll body: Lay your new pattern pieces on your body fabric and cut them out. Lay aside the two arm fronts, as these don’t require any additional work at this time.
Body Fronts: Stitch 2 rows of gathering stitches about 3 inches long along each side of the lower legs as illustrated. Don’t gather the last inch at the very bottom of the leg. This allows for the amount needed to attach to the porcelain. The bottom the gathers should end one inch up. Sew the center seam of the body front, using ¼” seam allowance. Zigzag this seam.
At this point I need to label the three different patterns that you have used so far.
The original unaltered pattern will be Pattern A. The new pattern you made by adding the length cut off of your porcelain pieces will be Pattern B. And the last pattern, the one to which you added the extra length for gathering, will be Pattern C.
Measure Pattern front B along the side seam from top to bottom, and from the crotch to the bottom of the leg on the center front side and note the measurements. Pull up the gathers on both sides of the legs until your new pattern, Pattern C, matches these measurements.
Body Backs: Tailor tack the darts in the body backs, and stitch the darts. Stitch and zigzag the center back seam.
Gather along the body sides as illustrated. Measure your original pattern, Pattern A, along the center back line from the top down to where a buttocks crease would be. Measure your new pattern from the top down the same distance and mark it.
Place the top of a 1/8 inch wide piece of elastic on the mark and sew across the top to hold it firmly in place, then zigzag across the elastic, being sure your stitch is wide enough not to catch the elastic.
Measure Pattern A again, this time from the top down to the bottom of the center back seam. Pull the end of the elastic so it slides within the zigzagging, forming gathers, until the center back seam measures the same as Pattern A. Stitch across the elastic at the bottom to anchor it firmly. This allows extra flexibility for seat movement needed to set the doll down properly.
Next pull the gather strings along the outside of the hips until the body back is the same length as side seam on Pattern B. The gathers should be clustered along the bottom part of the seat and the very top of the thigh area. Again, this lets the legs move at the top of the hips/seat.
Now that both the body back and body front have been reduced to the same length as Pattern B again, pin the body front and back together and sew as indicated on your regular instructions. Zigzag seams. Bending the body can put extra stress on them.
Arms: Stitch the two rows of gather stitches on both sides of the arm backs as illustrated, leaving the last inch at the bottom free. Gather the arm backs up to match the length of the arm fronts. The gathers should be clumped in the elbow area. Pin the pieces together and stitch. Zigzag seams.
Attaching body to arms and legs: If you decide that you prefer to have a groove in the tops of your porcelain pieces, rub a screw back and forth between the holes you added when you are wet cleaning the pieces. A screw makes a really nice groove and it’s quick and easy to do. Use a screw that is thin so the groove won’t be too wide. Just don’t cut too deeply or the porcelain will be weak in that area. If you are sure you want the groove, you may want to pour the arms and legs a triffle thicker then usual to allow for cutting it into the porcelain. A little thicker than a nickel will do the job.
If you have already finished the porcelain pieces without a grove, it’s fine. When it’s time to attach the fabric to the porcelain, position the leg in the fabric as usual and stitch in and out through the fabric and the holes in the leg. Go around twice so there is stitching on both sides of the fabric and porcelain all around the leg. Keep your thread snug and tie it off securely. Waxed dental floss makes a nice strong thread to use for this.
The arms are attached the same way. Try to line the thumb up with the seam on top of the fabric arm.
Armature: The pop-bead type of armature bends the easiest of course, and works the best for this type of body. Use as heavy an armature as will fit in the arms. (It is possible to use the heavy electrical wire if you would prefer, but more care is required in bending the limbs so as not to center the stress on the porcelain.)
Stuff the body firmly. The stuffing settles with time and if you don’t use enough, the weight of the arms will cause the arms to drop down instead of staying in the position of choice. Pay attention to the seat area when stuffing. You want it to be firm, but not so much as to stretch out the elastic or fill out all the gathers. The stuffed body should be about the same size as the unaltered body would have been.
And there you have it – a poseable body. You’re thinking it seems like a lot of trouble, aren’t you? It might be, but once you have the pattern, you can use it any time you make that size doll. So in the long run, it pays off. And for those of you who just don’t want to try to figure it out, I will be posting some already adjusted body patterns in our store in the near future, so maybe you’ll decide to buy one instead and try it. Your customers really will like it.
